Climate and local geomorphic interactions drive patterns of riparian forest decline along a Mediterranean Basin river

Stella, John C.; Riddle, J.; Piégay, Hervé; Gagnage, M.; Trémélo, Marie-Laure

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.01.013

Cited by 59 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…This knowledge is important for reducing human risks from inundation, among other concerns, particularly under nonstationary responses to flow regulation, climate change, and other long‐term drivers (Bendix & Stella, ; Gurnell, Bertoldi, & Corenblit, ). Recent innovations in field‐based studies, flume experiments, and remote sensing applications have expanded our ability to quantify and understand these processes (Dunford, Michel, Gagnage, Piégay, & Trémelo, ; Stella, Riddle, Piégay, Gagnage, & Trémélo, ; Tal, Gran, Murray, Paola, & Hicks, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives riparian vegetation encroachment in braided river channels at patch to reach scales? Insights from annual airborne surveys (Drôme River, SE France, 2005–2011)

et al. 2017

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Understanding riparian vegetation encroachment and its drivers is crucial for predicting alluvial river channel morphodynamics in different hydro‐climatic contexts. We investigated fine‐scale vegetation encroachment patterns and underlying physical controls along the Drôme River, France, following a 50‐year flood in 2003. Our study addressed the following questions: (a) What is the relative timing and the respective importance of vegetation patch recruitment versus patch expansion? (b) How well do regional/climatic factors explain the spatio‐temporal patterns of recruitment and expansion versus local and reach‐scale variation in geomorphic position and habitat? Along a 3‐km reach, we analysed a chronosequence of high‐resolution aerial images acquired yearly between 2005 and 2011. From each image series, we digitized patches of newly recruited vegetation and their lateral extent in following years to determine their expansion. This was complemented by elevation and plant structure data from airborne LiDAR data and field observations. The initial post‐flood vegetated area doubled within 6 years, with a pronounced recruitment peak in 2006–2007. Patch expansion showed a positive linear relationship to growing season temperature. Vegetation encroachment was greatest in a slightly aggrading sub‐reach compared to an incising sub‐reach. Initially, it occurred principally along low flow channel margins and on bar surfaces, later in intermittent channels. Our results confirmed that extensive recruitment can succeed floods with recurrence intervals smaller than 1‐in‐5 to 10 years, when the flood history resets the geomorphic framework. Recruitment extent depends in part on local hydrological connectivity, whereas higher temperatures can boost plant growth where there is a perennial water supply.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives riparian vegetation encroachment in braided river channels at patch to reach scales? Insights from annual airborne surveys (Drôme River, SE France, 2005–2011)

et al. 2017

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“…alba ) were found nearer the river and at lower altitudes than in S2. Studies carried out on the effect of changes in river hydrogeomorphology on riparian plant species confirm this behaviour (Corenblit et al ., ; Bejarano et al ., ; Stella et al ., ). Vegetation grows progressively nearer the channel because of lower water table levels, particularly in the case of species that are more vulnerable to changes in the hydrological regime (Corenblit et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…alba is an obligate phreatophyte (requires high water table levels) (Glenz et al ., ). In the second association, both species behaved like non‐obligate phreatophytes, with long roots and height facilitate their access to water and light (Stella et al ., ), consistent with the observations of Bejarano et al . () in Tiétar River, also in Central Spain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Variation of Woody Riparian Vegetation across the Riverbank Topographic Gradient in Mediterranean Rivers: Species and Growth Categories

Fernández-Santamarina

Magdaleno

Údias

2015

River Res. Applic.

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The composition and structure of riparian vegetation are linked to the natural hydrological variability and variation of environmental parameters in several spatial scales. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between the spatial distribution of the woody riparian vegetation and the variation in the riverbank topographic gradient, verifying whether this variation was significant between species and/or growth categories. Specifically, our research examined the location of the woody species with respect to the thalweg along two reaches of the Jarama River in Central Spain. The positioning variables of each individual and distance and elevation above the thalweg were evaluated for four growth categories using statistical analysis.This study revealed that the positioning of the species along reaches is not random and differs with the species and growth categories. In addition, groups of species were specified in the different growth categories using similar positioning patterns with respect to the thalweg. Examples of similar groups of species in a specifically growth category were as follows: Alnus glutinosa-Salix alba-Salix fragilis for one reach and Alnus glutinosa-Populus nigra-Salix alba-Salix salviifolia for the other one. Topographical preference ranges of the riparian species and groups of the Jarama River were also obtained. The integration of data relative to the distribution of species along the topographic gradient can be very useful in identifying species with a preference for specific locations and can also contribute to the success of the measures adopted to restore these frequently highly degraded environments.

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“…It is important to ensure that there is neither too much nor too little sediment to facilitate river recovery (Kondolf, ; Brooks and Brierley, ; Florsheim et al ., ; Jacobson et al ., ; Smith et al ., ; Fryirs and Brierley, ). Conceptual models can be used to communicate stages and timeframes of geomorphic adjustment (Simon, ; Brierley and Fryirs, ; Fryirs et al ., ; Stella et al ., ; Cluer and Thorne, ; Fryirs and Brierley, ; Phillips and Van Dyke, ). These insights can be used to assess whether geomorphic adjustments are likely to be reversible, considering how channel boundary conditions, flow and sediment inputs, and connectivity relationships have changed over time.…”

Section: Using Connectivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Connectivity as an emergent property of geomorphic systems

Wohl

Brierley

Cadol

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

283

195

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Connectivity describes the efficiency of material transfer between geomorphic system components such as hillslopes and rivers or longitudinal segments within a river network. Representations of geomorphic systems as networks should recognize that the compartments, links, and nodes exhibit connectivity at differing scales. The historical underpinnings of connectivity in geomorphology involve management of geomorphic systems and observations linking surface processes to landform dynamics. Current work in geomorphic connectivity emphasizes hydrological, sediment, or landscape connectivity. Signatures of connectivity can be detected using diverse indicators that vary from contemporary processes to stratigraphic records or a spatial metric such as sediment yield that encompasses geomorphic processes operating over diverse time and space scales. One approach to measuring connectivity is to determine the fundamental temporal and spatial scales for the phenomenon of interest and to make measurements at a sufficiently large multiple of the fundamental scales to capture reliably a representative sample. Another approach seeks to characterize how connectivity varies with scale, by applying the same metric over a wide range of scales or using statistical measures that characterize the frequency distributions of connectivity across scales. Identifying and measuring connectivity is useful in basic and applied geomorphic research and we explore the implications of connectivity for river management. Common themes and ideas that merit further research include; increased understanding of the importance of capturing landscape heterogeneity and connectivity patterns; the potential to use graph and network theory metrics in analyzing connectivity; the need to understand which metrics best represent the physical system and its connectivity pathways, and to apply these metrics to the validation of numerical models; and the need to recognize the importance of low levels of connectivity in some situations. We emphasize the value in evaluating boundaries between components of geomorphic systems as transition zones and examining the fluxes across them to understand landscape functioning. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Climate and local geomorphic interactions drive patterns of riparian forest decline along a Mediterranean Basin river

Cited by 59 publications

References 66 publications

What drives riparian vegetation encroachment in braided river channels at patch to reach scales? Insights from annual airborne surveys (Drôme River, SE France, 2005–2011)

What drives riparian vegetation encroachment in braided river channels at patch to reach scales? Insights from annual airborne surveys (Drôme River, SE France, 2005–2011)

Spatial Variation of Woody Riparian Vegetation across the Riverbank Topographic Gradient in Mediterranean Rivers: Species and Growth Categories

Connectivity as an emergent property of geomorphic systems

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